Oscar Wilde
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Ep. 165 – Mr. W. H.
“—Do you think it is only a paradox? the quaker librarian was asking. The mocker is never taken seriously when he is most serious.” Topics in this episode include Oscar Wilde’s “The Portrait of Mr. W.H.,” Shakespeare’s sonnets, the identity of the Fair Youth, the dedication on the folio of Shakespeare’s sonnets, the identity of…
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An Intimate Portrait of Mr. W. H.
“The Love that dare not speak its name” in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Jonathan, such as Plato made the very basis of his philosophy, and such as you find in the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare. It is that…
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Ep. 55 – Cranly’s Arm
Who wore it better – Carrie Bradshaw or Stephen Dedalus? Kelly helps Dermot remember why he drew James Joyce wearing red, killer heels. Topics include subtle Homeric correspondences, Dermot’s allegiance to Mr. Kipling’s cakes, Stéphane Mallarmé’s ‘L’après-midi d’un faune’ (The afternoon of a faun), more ire directed at that mocker Buck Mulligan, Stephen’s tiny feet,…
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The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name
To listen to a discussion of this topic, check out the podcast episode here. On page 49 of “Proteus,” Stephen Dedalus spends a paragraph thinking about his shoes, which feels appropriate rounding out an episode that consists of walking on the shore: His gaze brooded on his broadtoed boots, a buck’s castoffs, nebeneinander. He counted…